This document summarizes a presentation given at the UNCCD 2nd Scientific Conference on the economic assessment of desertification and sustainable land management. The presentation discusses the importance of soils in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas, noting that soils provide over 99% of food and fiber and store large amounts of carbon. Soil degradation from erosion, salinization, and other processes affects agricultural productivity and livelihoods around the world. Sustainable land management practices can help conserve soils, sequester carbon, improve food production, and enhance ecosystem services. Healthy soils are crucial to supporting the world's growing population into the future.

1. UNCCD 2nd Scientific Conference
Economic assessment of desertification, sustainable land management and
resilience of arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas
Bonn, Germany, 9-12 April 2013
Agriculture and soil in WAD
Prof. Dr. Pandi Zdruli
International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM)
Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari, Italy
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2. CIHEAM
Was established in 1962 under the auspices of OECD and the Council of Europe with original
membership of France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Turkey and ex-Yugoslavia.
At present CIHEAM brings together 13 member states Albania, Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Malta,
Morocco, Tunisia in addition to France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Turkey
Paris
Montpellier
Zaragoza
Bari
Chania

3. RICERCA@ IAMB
Main activities of CIHEAM
• Training
• Research
• Cooperation
• Knowledge Dissemination
IAMB: areas of Integrated Pest Management
Integrated Pest Management
scientific excellence of Mediterranean fruit trees
of Mediterranean fruit trees
Mediterranean Organic
Mediterranean Organic
Agriculture
Agriculture
Land and water
Land and water
resources
resources
management
management
Sustainable agriculture
Sustainable agriculture
and rural development
and rural development

4. Soil is slipping away, ….but we can stop it!
This is the main message of WAD
Billions of tons of soil area washed away each year

5. Our own existence rely on a thin soil layer
Critical Zone
Source: J. Luis Rubio (2010)
Source: Wilding and Lin, (2006).
Main functions of soils:
Biomass production, storage, filtering, transformation, gene
pool, cultural heritage protection, source of raw materials
EC, COM (2006) 231

6. Soil is the foundation of our society
Source: Safriel (2007) Source: SSSA, 2011
• 99 % of food, fiber and fodder
• 51 % of all ecosystem services through nutrient cycling (FAO, 2011)
• Storing up to 1,550 Pg C to 1-m depth, twice the amount
of Carbon in the atmosphere (Lal, 2004; Baveye, 2007)
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7. Availability of global soil resources
Global land and water cover
9 billion people by 2050 will rely mostly
for their food and livelihoods on these
limited recourses
But arable land per capita decreased from 0.39 ha per person in 1960 to 0,21 ha in 2007
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8. From Lal, 2012
Still 60 % of the food
needs derive from
Converting pastures to cropland in Apulia, Italy rainfed systems
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9. The evil of soil degradation in WAD
SD reduced agricultural productivity by
• Erosion (water and wind) ~15% between 1950 and 2000. For three
centuries ending in 2000, topsoil has been
• Salinisation/Alkalinisation lost at the rate of 300 million tons/yr.
Between 1950 and 2000, topsoil was lost at
• OM and soil fertility decline the rate of 760 millions tons per year.
and nutrient mining From Lal, 2012
Annual soil fertility depletion rates in
• Soil sealing SSA are worth US$4 billions of fertilizer
(Source: Gilbert, 2012)
Natural and man-made erosion
Gully erosion in Albania
The “calanchi” of Southern Italy
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10. Soil degradation affects all: an on soilperspective
The impact of human activities EU
Diffuse input of contaminants as Manures and
particulates Acids fertilisers
Sewage
sludge
Persistent substances Pesticides &
herbicides
tals
y me
Heav
Gravel
s i on Accumulation/ extraction
il ero
Land use
change So Contamination
Compaction Release of toxic
Distruction Salinisation substances
Sealing of humus Acidification
Blocking of soil Gradual Changes in the Contamination of soils and ground water with Destruction of
functions important to destruction of structure of applied agrochemicals and atmospheric soil
the ecology of the soils soils pollutants
landscape
Recultivation Reduction in Changes in soil composition
Destruction of soil of soil soil fertility
Adverse impacts on living organisms in the
Reduction in soil
soil fertility Source: Montanarella, 2007
Soil degradation cost € 80 per year to each inhabitant of the European Union and the
overall annual costs for the Union are estimated up to €38 billion annually for EU25
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11. Consequences of the earthquake that hit Emilia Romagna region
in Italy on 29 May 2012
Fluvisol/Cambisol/Luvisol association of
the Po River valley, Italy
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12. Dominant soil and terrain constraints for low input farming
Farmers need to produce
70 % more food by 2050
equal to 1 billion tons more
of wheat, rice and other
cereals and 200 million
more tons of beef and
other livestock products
Drylands are home
to 2,7 billion people
High fertile soils cover only 3 per cent of the world’s
A fertile land area, but produce > than 40 per cent of the global
but 70 % of the
soils are degraded
Mollisol food and over 90 per cent of them are used for cereal
production
Great disparities between the rich and poor countries
Protect
High income countries: 32 % prime lands
them! Population: 1 billion, Arable land ha/ capita: 0.37
Low income countries: 28 % prime lands
Population: 2.6 billion, Arable land ha/capita: 0.17
FAO, 2011 12

13. Can the soil still feed us? YES but only through SLM
The “power” of fence
Degradation just started It’s all degraded
No till corn grown in Brazil
No degradation
There is not a “fit for all” strategy.....it has to be locally tested and validated
Sardinia, Italy, 2011
Photo: Zdruli
It’s all about management!!!
r SLM
Co
nse WOCAT African Great Green Wall
g Strat egies fo
rv
atio ed Financin
na ricultu
re “Bhoo Integrat
gric en ag c
or lan hetana in anagement
ultu Ev erGre d reju iti Integra ted soil fertility m
re
Conse vinati ative”
rvation on
Urea d tillage Economic valuation of land
eep p CRP PES
lacem
ent Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems Green Water Credits 13

14. “To forget how to tender soil is to forget about ourselves”
Mahatma Gandi
Terraced agroforestry system in
Konso, Ethiopia demonstrate dual
benefits of soil conservation and No till corn grown in Brazil
agriculture
As of 2012 there are 2.6 billion global farmers
But small scale ones produce 70 % of food
Well designed terraces in Syria Greening the desert in India
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15. Healthy soils produce Soils could sequester
healthy and abundant carbon 5 times more
food than the atmosphere
Only 1 % of soil Zero-net land degradation
microorganisms have
been identified
SLM improve
Streptomycin was productivity and
identified in the soil biota livelihoods of affected
populations
WAD’s conclusion:
Soils preserve and enhance ecosystem services and functionality
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16. Thank you!
pandi@iamb.it
It is here where much of the food
grows
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